klaina 

(Greek: Ίκλαινα) is a historic village in the municipal unit of Pylos, Messenia, Greece. It is

situated in low hills, approximately 10 km to the northeast of the town of Pylos. Important archaeological
remains of the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1600-1100 BC) period have been brought to light through
excavations and surface survey by the Athens Archaeological Society and the University of Missouri–
St. Louis under the direction of Professor Michael Cosmopoulos. The finds include an early Mycenaean
palace, giant terrace walls, murals, an advanced drainage system, and a clay tablet from between 1450
and 1350 B.C. featuring an early example of Linear B writing.[2] Other periods represented are the Late
Classical and the Byzantine.

Contents

 1Archaeological research in detail

 2Historical population
 3References
 4External links

Archaeological research in detail[edit]

The systematic excavation at Iklaina [3] started in 2006, after a survey which had taken place in the five
previous years. The archaeologists located residential buildings, dating to the end of the MH/ beginning
of LH period, and to the LK I/II period.
The discovery of a large terrace, 23 x 8 m, built in the Cyclopean building system using massive blocks
of stone, proved to be particularly important. The “Cyclopean Terrace”, as it was called, supported a
large building, of the “megaron” type, with possibly two or even three storeys (called the Cyclopean
Terrace Complex). Although this building had been partly destroyed, the excavations revealed some of
its surviving parts and defined its architectural form: it was a building complex consisting of three wings,
built around a central rectangular court. The movable finds prove that the last phase of that building
was the LH IIIA2 period, i.e. about 1330 B.C.
During the 2009 excavation period, over 2500 fragments of wall-paintings came to light. A striking
fragment is that depicting a ship with three human figures and dolphins, as well as a procession
consisting of female figures.
This building complex on the Cyclopean Terrace was completely destroyed in LH IIIA2 period and was
never built again. New building activity was carried out in the northern part of the settlement, where the
so-called Megaron Γ was constructed. This appears to have at least 3 rooms and a porch. A hearth and
storage rooms were found. In the buildings of the southern side parts of a particularly elaborate sewage
system were also discovered.
The most important discovery, however, took place in a dump next to the central sewer, which
contained burnt shards. There was discovered a fragment of a Linear B tablet, which was written on
both sides. This tablet dates to the LHIIB-IIIA1 period, i.e. around 1450-1400 B.C., which makes it the
earliest Mycenaean tablet of mainland Greece.
Furthermore, during the excavation period of 2012, an open-air sanctuary was discovered, also unique
for that period and for mainland Greece in general. Another important find of the same excavation
period was a large rectangular building (Building X), in front of which passed a paved street, of an
exceptionally elaborate construction, possibly a processional street, which led the way from the houses
of the settlement to the complex of the Cyclopean Terrace.
On the basis of the available evidence, it appears that Iklaina was a powerful Mycenaean centre in the
LH IIB/ IIIA1 period. The large building complexes, the rich finds, the refined taste, and the advanced
level of technical knowledge of the inhabitants attest to the fact that Iklaina could have been the capital
of an autonomous small state, which clashed with a neighboring state at Ano Englianos; the latter
subdued the former, and demoted it to a secondary capital of one of the provinces of Pylia.
The final destruction of the site seems to have occurred at about 1200 B.C.